


Boned

by thevillainofthisstory



Series: Marching Inexorably Forward [2]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Broken Bones, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, broken bones tw, ghostly healing powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 18:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12064713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thevillainofthisstory/pseuds/thevillainofthisstory
Summary: Danny is injured during a fight with Technus. Vlad happens to be in the right place at the right time and insists on helping. Danny is suspicious but after the incident with Vlad's core he's willing to give the other man a chance. Not that Vlad is inclined to give him much of a choice.





	Boned

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second part of Marching Inexorably Forward! I'm going for a slow burn. A very, very slow burn. Also this fic contains a lot of mentions of broken bones, blood, and accidental disfigurement. Please don't read if those are triggering for you. It's not overly gory but the main point of the story is that Danny is injured and Vlad helps.

The first thing Danny became aware of was an agonizing in his upper arm. For a few minutes he remained wherever he was, curled up tightly in a ball begging for someone to make the stabbing pain stop. Danny couldn’t remember where he was or what had happened; his focus had limited itself to whatever was happening just below his shoulder. It _hurt_. Danny wasn’t supposed to feel pain like that, he was a ghost-

The ghost. He had been fighting a ghost. Gritting his teeth and groping blindly, Danny managed to wrap his shaking fingers around a metal cylinder. The Fenton Thermos, he still had the Fenton Thermos. And the cap was still on. Danny let out a relieved sigh before suddenly going rigid. That slight movement had jostled his arm and knocked all the breath out of him as he forced himself not to cry out. What happened? Where was he?

Wracking his brain, Danny tried to remember the fight. Technus had created some sort of juggernaut out of the town’s new and improved metro system. They fought, Danny quipped, Technus made some stupid technology pun. Just as he pulled out the Thermos to capture the rogue ghost, Technus had hit him with a surprise backhand. Danny was sent careening into a nearby building. Unfortunately for Technus, Danny had already caught him in the Thermos’ beam. Somehow he had managed to get the cap back on the Thermos before passing out and falling. That seemed to be the extent of his luck for the day.

Finally, Danny pried his eyes open. He was on the ground in an alleyway. Gingerly he rolled over onto his back. Above him was massive indentation in the brick wall; he must have hit it and passed out. To his left was a dumpster that was crumpled on the side closest to him. Okay, maybe Danny had hit the wall, fell onto the dumpster, and then changed back from Phantom to Fenton. He probably had a concussion. _Another_ concussion. At this rate Danny was going to have less brain function than Dash. All things considered, he had gotten off pretty lightly. At least a concussion would heal quickly thanks to his ghostly healing factor, not like that time he had broken both legs. Healing bones sucked especially when it was a compound-

Something warm was dripping down his arm, starting from the point where the pain was worst. No. Not again. Gritting his teeth and expecting the worst, Danny looked down at his right arm. Yeah that was- that was that alright. The bone of his upper arm was sticking up out of the skin. A concussion and a compound fracture, just what his day needed. Danny had to get the bone set correctly before it healed too much more. He refused to think about what he would have to do if he couldn’t get the bone back in place in time. Even considering thinking about it made his stomach churn. This day really couldn’t get any worse.

“Brad look!” a woman shrieked. Scratch that, things had just gotten worse. A middle aged woman and her husband came jogging down the alley. “Oh my God your arm! Brad, help me get him up. Watch his arm.”

The man came around to Danny’s right side where the bone was sticking up. “Can you tell us your name, son? What happened?” the man asked slowly. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Danny valiantly resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his newfound saviors. “My name is Danny. I, uh, think I got hit when the um, ghost boy was fighting that train thing?” he replied vaguely. This was not good. This was worse than his arm. If Danny couldn’t slip these two then they were going to take him to the hospital where he would have to explain why his arm was literally healing before their eyes. And then his parents would show up and want to run tests and take samples and Danny really had to ditch these two well-meaning bumbles before he got torn apart molecule by molecule.

“I’m Marg and this is my husband Brad,” the woman said as she fluttered her hands uselessly around Danny’s head and upper body. “You’re going to be fine sweetie we’re going to get you to the hospital.”

“I really think I’d rather go home and let my parents take me,” Danny lied as he forced himself into a sitting position. That was a thing that adults liked right? Respecting parental authority?

Marg was already shaking her head. “No can do kiddo,” she said firmly. Wedging her arm under Danny’s good one she continued, “What you’ve got there is a nasty broken bone. We’ve gotta get you to the hospital so they can operate. You’re probably going into shock, Brad help me get him up.”

Between the two of them they heaved Danny onto his feet without jostling his arm too much. Less and less blood was flowing from the wound. Danny guessed he had about half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes before the bone was healed too much. He was going to have to re-break it, he just knew it. Why couldn’t these adults just leave him alone like all the other ones in his life? But Brad and Marg seemed determined to interfere as they half carried him down to the opening of the alley.

Out on the street a cleanup crew was already assembled to deal with the destruction that Technus had caused. Danny glared at the wrecked train car that took up a majority of the street. THAT’S what had knocked him into the wall. The rest of the train was still linked to Technus and locked up in the Thermos. The town council and their illustrious mayor were going to have a field day with that one.

Speaking of their mayor, Danny noticed that Vlad standing a little ways down the street talking to someone in a hard hat and safety vest. Danny grinned before remembering that he was being dragged down the street against his will. Vlad loved cleanup duty. The town got to see that their mayor cared and was invested in keeping them safe from the ghostly menaces that haunted their fair city. And Vlad might actually have cared; once it became apparent just how loyal the citizens were, Vlad starting taking the position more seriously. Public image aside, Danny knew that the man had an ulterior motive for clean-up duty. Vlad liked to pick through the wreckage to make sure nothing with a ghostly ectosignature slipped out of his grasp. Most of the stuff ended up in storage until he had the time to study it. The more dangerous items got a spectral escort to his private labs.

“Our car is right down there,” Marg said, pointing to a blue sedan parked just past Vlad. Of course they had to walk past Vlad. Danny really had to stop thinking that things couldn’t get worse because they inevitably did. He really didn’t need the older halfa’s condescending scorn at Danny’s continued incompetence. Or worse, Vlad could find the entire situation amusing. He did love to watch Danny squirm.

After a few more steps down the street and Danny saw Vlad stiffen slightly. A small puff of red smoke escaped the mayor’s mouth disguised as a cough. No one else would have noticed it but Danny had been waiting for it, waiting for Vlad to sense him. Vlad broke off his conversation with the hard hat guy and began discreetly scanning the street. When his eyes finally landed on Danny the younger halfa nearly choked from trying not to laugh. Vlad’s eyes had widened comically and he nearly tripped over his own feet.

“Son are you okay?” Brad asked as he hoisted his grip on Danny a little further up. “You’re awfully quiet. We need you to keep talking.”

“I’m fine,” Danny promised absently. Vlad was staring at him, trying to convey some sort of private message with his eyebrows that just wasn’t coming through. If Vlad had thought they shared some special bond after Danny had helped him with his core he was sorely mistaken. Since he didn’t know what Vlad wanted from him, Danny decided that the safest option was to glare. Apparently that was the wrong response because Vlad had decided to give up on subtlety and was making his way briskly toward the strange trio. “Wait, here comes the mayor.”

“Mayor Masters, this boy was hurt during the fighting,” Marg explained preemptively as Vlad walked up. “We’re trying to get him to the hospital, his arm is broken.”

“Daniel what have you done?” Vlad asked incredulously. Danny had a feeling he was talking about the two meddling humans more than the spear of bone poking out of his arm.

“Wrong place wrong time,” Danny retorted mulishly. Shooting a discreet glare at Marg, Danny rolled his shoulders to work out some of the kinks caused by his rapid healing. The bleeding had stopped and his bruises had skipped straight to yellow. This was it, this was the day that his parents made good on their threats to peel the ghost boy down layer by layer. All because Danny couldn’t get two humans with good intentions to leave him alone.

“I’ll take him from here,” Vlad offered. Well, it was an offer unless you knew Vlad as well as Danny did. Vlad wasn’t actually giving the couple a choice, for whatever reason. Danny had accepted his fate as the protagonist in The Worst Day Ever; of course his arch nemesis would take advantage of his temporarily weakened state.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Mayor?” Marg questioned. “I mean, the boy’s been through a rather rough day.”

“I can see that,” Vlad deadpanned as he blatantly looked from Danny to the surrounding carnage. The subtext was killing the younger halfa. Of course Vlad blamed him instead of Technus. Because why would he suddenly start being reasonable? “Quite the commotion, eh Daniel?”

“Do you two know each other?” Brad asked brightly. The irony was not lost on Danny that these two strangers, who had denied his request to be taken to his parents, were about to leave him in the hands of his greatest foe.

Danny needed to get away from these two soon and not just because Vlad was starting to look irritated. He was already going to have to go through the agony of partially re-breaking his arm. Time was not on his side and Vlad was starting to look like the better option. At least Vlad wouldn’t take him to the hospital. Well, the morgue in the basement of the hospital was still a potential destination, but Danny would deal with that after talking his way out of this problem first.

“Vlad went to college with my dad,” Danny interjected quickly and giving Vlad his best ‘shut up and let me handle this’ look. “He’s practically family. I trust him. No offense, I’m really grateful for your help. But Vlad can explain what happened at the hospital without saying ‘I found this teenage boy in an alley’ which is kinda suspicious in my opinion.”

“If you’re sure,” Marg relented reluctantly. “We really don’t mind though!”

Brad was already transferring his grip on Danny over to Vlad. “Sweetie, it’s the mayor. And Danny here says he’s a friend. It’s not like we’re going to doubt the mayor after all,” Brad chuckled. Danny resisted the urge to comically dry heave; cutting up would not help him at the moment. It wasn’t like Danny could blame them for being ignorant of the real Vlad. The real Vlad had blue skin, red eyes, fangs, and struck fear into the hearts of men. Vlad Masters posed for pictures with babies and gave rousing speeches before Casper High football games.

“Thank you for finding him,” Vlad called over his shoulder as he forced Danny down the street at a much quicker pace than the humans had been willing to risk. Lowering his voice so that only Danny could hear, Vlad hissed, “ _What happened_?”

“Technus hit me with a train, what do you think happened?” Danny retorted just as quietly. “Hit the wall, fell into a dumpster, broke my arm and got a concussion. Then the American Dream back there found me and insisted on dragging me to the hospital.”

Vlad let out an exasperated breath. “Where’s the rest of the train? I’m going to need that back,” he said as he scanned the nearby alleys. Danny assumed he was looking for a secluded place to transform but he could have been looking for a place to hide Danny’s body. At this point Danny wasn’t willing to rule anything out. Especially because Vlad seemed to be helping him. That didn’t bode well.

“Thermos,” Danny said vaguely. Somehow he had managed to hold onto the Fenton Thermos in all the commotion. From the way they were pressed together with Vlad pretending to half carry him, Danny felt the annoyed growl resonating in Vlad’s chest more than he heard it. “All I have to do it get Technus out of it and you can have your train back. It’s not that hard.”

“Really?” Vlad mocked, “Not that hard? It was difficult enough that you ended up unconscious in an alley. But no, Danny Phantom had everything under control I’m sure. That’s why your humerus is sticking out of your arm, because it was all just so easy.”

“Your sarcasm is really helpful right now, thanks so much,” Danny responded in what he pretended was an equally cutting tone. “I’ll get you your train as soon as I fix my arm.”

Turning down an abandoned alley far enough away from the commotion for Vlad’s liking, the older halfa dropped Danny. The movement jarred his arm, making him wince but not enough for him to cry out. That wasn’t right, he should still be in pain. Glancing at his injured arm, Danny was unpleasantly surprised to find that his skin had nearly finished covering the bone again. Either he had been unconscious longer than he though or his powers were getting stronger. “Shit,” he cursed.

Vlad eyed the wound with interest. “That looks like it’s going to be excruciating,” he remarked conversationally. “Exactly how do you plan to fix it?”

“That’s not really any of your business,” Danny replied. He was going to have to transform, that was the only way. Danny had been holding out hope that maybe he could figure something else out but he was out of options. The problem with transforming was that his bone would harden completely and when he changed back it would be as though the break never happened. Danny would have to make a clone or two and one would have to hold him down while the other reset his arm. At least this time he was strong enough to make clones; the first time he had been forced to do this to his legs, Sam and Tucker had wanted to help. After that incident they asked him to never involve them with broken bones again.

“Ms. Manson and Mr. Foley will be involved, I presume,” Vlad continued as though Danny hadn’t spoken. “Neither of them have the strength to hold you down let alone break one of your bones, you know this yes?”

“Sam and Tucker don’t help me with this kind of thing,” Danny admitted grudgingly. He didn’t know what Vlad was doing, hovering now that the danger of exposure had passed. He should have been gloating and leaving, that was how things usually went.

“Then enlighten me, little badger,” Vlad requested lightly. He stepped closer to Danny until they were nearly toe to toe so that he had to stare directly down at the teen. “How, exactly, are you going to reset your arm?”

Danny stood his ground. Vlad could try to intimidate him all he wanted; Danny still remembered how stupid Vlad had looked sprawled across his kitchen table a few weeks ago. “I’m going to re-break it,” Danny conceded, suddenly tired of the posturing. His day had been absolutely awful and it had to get worse before it even had a chance at getting better. Vlad just needed to leave him alone. “I’m going to break it, set it, and then let it heal. And then I’m going to do my chemistry homework.”

Vlad’s calm façade _shattered_. “Oh, so you’re going to break your own arm just like that,” Vlad raged, snapping his fingers for effect. “It’s all easy solutions for Danny Phantom. Destroy the town, steal a train, break some bones, you love the simple solutions don’t you Daniel?”

“Just go Vlad,” Danny sighed as he turned to shuffle down the alley. A searing hot hand grabbed him on his uninjured shoulder. Danny reacted without thinking, turning and expelling a wave of cold at the source of the burning. Vlad hit the bare brick wall with a thud and stuck there, trapped by ice. “Shit, Vlad! Are you okay?” Danny exclaimed as he went rushing towards the older halfa. He hadn’t meant to do that, he was just tired and injured. He had to make Vlad understand before Vlad retaliated.

“I’m fine, Daniel,” Vlad grunted as he slowly melted the ice and dropped back to the ground. Vlad was making quick progress with his core powers. “I hadn’t meant to- What I mean to say is…”

“Vlad, what do you want?” Danny demanded when it seemed Vlad had no intentions of finishing his sentence. “You got me away from that overly invested couple. Congrats. You’ve gloated about saving me and mocked me for my continuing failures at ghost fighting. This is usually the part where you disappear dramatically, so what gives?”

“I’m trying to help you, you ungrateful whelp!” Vlad half-shouted, stomping his foot.

“But you already did?” Danny pointed out in confusion. Vlad wasn’t making any sense.

“I’m offering to fix your arm for you,” Vlad slowly gritted out through clenched teeth as though Danny’s idiocy was trying his patience. Well, that was par for the course between the two of them.

“Yeah like I’d let you break my arm,” Danny chuckled. Vlad continued to stare him down angrily and his laughter died. “You’re serious? Vlad you’ve broken enough of my bones over the years I’m not going to sit still and let you do another one just because you’re a sadist.”

Vlad looked like Danny had reached over and slapped him. “Excuse me?” he wheezed. “You think I want to- Daniel NO. I’m offering to help because I know how awful it is to try and fix something like this on your own. I would spare you from that, if I could.”

That was the same argument Danny had made when Vlad’s core was acting up. But really, the situations weren’t the same at all. “No, this is about you trying to pay me back for the core thing the other week, and I told you not to mention it,” Danny said firmly. “This isn’t my first rodeo, Vlad. I’ve done it by myself up until this point and I’m going to keep doing myself because I don’t have any other options. Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t need your twisted pity.”

“This isn’t pity Daniel I am trying to help if you would just let me,” Vlad insisted as he followed Danny’s retreating form down the alley. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

“Yeah I do,” Danny muttered dejectedly. He couldn’t let Vlad help him. If he got used to Vlad’s help, got used to going to Vlad when he needed something then he would just be setting himself up for betrayal. Sure, another halfa would be great if it was anyone but Vlad. Danny continued down the alley.

Vlad was just as stubborn as Danny was, unfortunately. Once again he grabbed Danny’s shoulder and spun him around. At least he didn’t get burned this time. “No. Not this time,” Vlad insisted darkly as he tugged Danny closer. “We are going to my lab and I am going to fix your arm.”

“Vlad just leave me alone!” Danny shouted up at Vlad’s scowling face.

“You don’t have to be alone!” Vlad shouted back. That was a low blow after everything that had happened between them. Vlad seemed to realize that, dropping his hand from Danny’s shoulder and stepping back. “What I meant was…” he trailed off them paused and seemed to steel himself. “No, that’s exactly what I meant. I know we have our irreconcilable differences Daniel but you have to let me help you this once.”

“Why do you care so much about one stupid broken arm?” Danny demanded. “What’s really going through your head, Vlad? It can’t be about the town; you don’t actually care that Technus tore up the metro. And you definitely don’t care about my broken arm, you’ve broken this same arm twice before. So what do you want, Vlad? Hurry up before this day gets any worse.”

“Did it occur to you what would have happened if that couple had managed to get you to a hospital?”

“Yeah my parents would have torn me apart. Literally. All they talk about is taking the ghost boy apart molecule by molecule,” Danny said sullenly. “But it’s not like that would have sent them your way. I wouldn’t just starting spouting the secrets of all ghostdom just because my parents finally managed to catch a ghost.”

“I’m not worried for myself, little badger,” Vlad sighed. He seemed to deflate for a moment, looking at Danny with an unfathomably sad gaze. “As much as I loathe you and your meddling, and as much as I wish you would simply capitulate to my demands, I do not truly wish you lasting harm. Occasional maiming aside, I value your existence.”

“You like having another halfa around, big deal.”

“I told you that you were the most important discovery of my life after attaining my powers,” Vlad reminded him. Danny had chalked that particular confession up to the mind whammy he had accidentally put Vlad under. Most of their conversation from that day had been locked up in the back if his mind, never to be reexamined. “Do you have any idea how important you are? How unique you are?”

“Considering there’s only two of us-”

“Not because of that,” Vlad interrupted. “Please, little badger, I’m selfish enough to want your continued existence. Humor me. Let me help you just this once and I promise no further harm will come to you today.”

Danny glared at the other man who stood across from him, arms open and head bowed. He really was waiting for Danny’s verdict. Well, the joke was on him. No amount of promises and niceness and fake concern was ever going to convince Danny that Vlad was trying to be helpful. It had to be a trap; Vlad was too selfish and opportunistic for it not to be. Now all he had to do was tell Vlad to take his lies and shove it.

“Okay.”

That wasn’t what he meant to say. Why did he say that?

Vlad looked as surprised as Danny felt. “Okay?” Vlad repeated cautiously. “You’ll accept my help without throwing me into a wall again?”

“You burned me!”

Vlad waved the accusation off impatiently. “You were being stubborn.”

“Hello, have you met me?”

That dragged a smile out of the older man. “Once or twice,” he replied. More seriously he continued, “I’m going to have to fly you to my lab. We’ve dallied too long, the bone must be completely healed by now. If we’re lucky there will still be a hairline where I can re-break the bone. If not…”

“If not then it might be easier for you to crush it completely,” Danny pointed out practically. That was his worst case scenario because it required pulverizing several inches of bone and hoping that they realigned properly.

“We’ll deal with that when the situation arises. Are you in any pain?”

Danny took a moment to assess his injuries. The arm was healed improperly; it would feel awful to touch but not agonizing. The concussion had sorted itself out as had the bruises. He was exhausted but other than that, everything seemed fine. “I’m good, just don’t touch the part that’s sticking out.”

Coming around to Danny’s left side Vlad looked at Danny critically. “Shouldn’t be a problem,” he murmured. Before Danny could ask what the heck Vlad was talking about the older man had scooped him up into the air.

“Vlad!” Danny squeaked, automatically wrapping his arms around Vlad’s neck. This was not how he imagined his day going.

“Careful,” Vlad admonished. “I’m going to transform now.”

Danny was grateful for the warning as two black rings of energy suddenly enveloped the two of them. Being so close to someone else’s transformation felt odd. Danny could feel Vlad’s ectosignature coming forward as the chest he was pressed up against suddenly became broader. There was something intimate about touching Vlad during the shift and Danny wanted nothing to do with it. Why didn’t Vlad wait to pick him up until after Plasmius had come out to play?

As the light faded, Vlad was looking down at him with fangy grin. Plasmius looked almost friendly and it was making Danny uncomfortable. In retaliation he turned them both invisible so that he didn’t have to look at Vlad’s stupid face.

Not being able to see Vlad didn’t matter all that much when Danny was still pressed up against him. He was literally in his arch enemy’s grasp. Danny could feel the vibration of Vlad’s laughter through his chest as they took to the sky.

* * *

 

“Do you have anything I can bite down on?” Danny asked. He was sitting in the middle of a desk that they had dragged to the center of the lab. The desk would serve as their makeshift operating table. Vlad was fussing around the lab, shuffling papers and examining bottles and beakers. Danny shouldn’t have been surprised at how orderly the place was. Maybe he was so surprised because the lab he was used to was a cluttered disaster of machine parts, paperwork, and fluid spills of unknown origin. Vlad would have found the working conditions of the Fenton lab unacceptable he was sure.

“The room is soundproof Daniel, you don’t have to worry about being loud,” Vlad said absently as he continued to peruse the documents. “And you won’t hear any judgement from me.”

“Um, thanks Vlad,” Danny stuttered. The whole ‘gentle and understanding’ thing that Vlad had going on was really starting to freak Danny out. It was almost like Vlad cared, which was completely ridiculous. “But I was more worried about accidentally caving your house in on top of us.”

That got Vlad to look up from whatever he was looking for. “Oh fudge bars,” he muttered. Reaching into a nearby drawer, Vlad pulled out a nylon strap. “Wad this up and bite down on it. I had forgotten about that particular talent.”

Danny hopped down off the table and took the strap. How Vlad had forgotten about the only power Danny had that could kick his ass was beyond him. As he wound the strap around his hand, another thought occurred to Danny. “Do you wanna tie me down?” Danny asked and then wanted to hit himself. That wasn’t the sort of thing you asked Vlad if you wanted to keep your dignity.

“It won’t be necessary,” Vlad replied and Danny sagged in relief. Flipping through another report he continued, “Besides, we’d need something a little more substantial than those. I suspect you could snap them quite easily. Or you might accidentally phase through them. Either way, I’m not going to restrain you with anything other than my own two hands. That’s the safest option for both of us.”

Relief washed over Danny as he hopped back up onto the desk. Being tied down he could handle. Vlad making jokes about tying him down? That’s where he drew the line.

“What are you looking for, anyway?” Danny asked, trying to get the subject as far away as possible from his potential bondage.

With a dissatisfied grunt, Vlad discarded yet another file. “I have been attempting to make an anesthetic that would work on an individual of our physiology for more than a few moments,” Vlad explained. “For precisely this sort of situation. But it was more of a hobby than anything. I haven’t even begun initial trials. I had hoped to spare you some pain, little badger, but it just isn’t possible.”

“It’s fine Vlad,” Danny insisted uncomfortably. “This isn’t even the worst I’ve had.” Vlad was still staring unhappily at his stack of files. That kind of helpless displeasure didn’t look right on Vlad’s face and Danny was suddenly willing to say just about anything to make the older man stop. It was a stupid urge. Danny was the one who was injured and it was Vlad who had more or less forced his help on Danny. But Vlad had been right: he was the only one who could help. Swallowing his pride, Danny continued, “It’ll be fine, fruitloop. You’re a whole lot stronger than me, you’ll break it quick and have it set before I know it.”

“Flattery, Daniel? Really?” Vlad asked wryly. “First you offer to let me tie you down and then you follow that intriguing suggestion with an actual complement. My heart is all a-flutter.”

“Shut up,” Danny snapped, ignoring the blush he could feel staining his cheeks. “I’m trying to make this painless for both of us okay? I don’t know why you’re being so pushy about helping but I figured that being nice was the least I could do. I just want my arm fixed, okay?”

“We would have to pick a safe word, of course,” Vlad continued as though Danny hadn’t spoken. Vlad was back in his stride but Danny was starting to consider the cost of such a thing; he was about to be mocked within an inch of his life. “After an open and heartfelt discussion about what we’re both looking to get out of this relationship. I have no qualms about tying you down, we seem to have that in common, but there are other things to consider such as-”

“NEVER MIND,” Danny interrupted loudly. Hopping down from the table, Danny headed for the door. He knew Vlad was just teasing him and that the older man was just trying to make Danny uncomfortable. Well, he had succeeded because Danny’s face was bright red. Danny should have let Vlad continue to be sad for whatever reason was in that crazy head of his. It wasn’t Danny’s responsibility to police Vlad’s moods. “I’ll fix it myself.”

A warm hand closed around Danny’s good shoulder. That was the third time Vlad had grabbed him. “Wait Daniel I was only teasing,” Vlad said. His laughter was warmer than the hand on Danny’s shoulder. “I’ll behave. Come back to the table.”

“You? Behave?” Danny countered. “Since when?”

“I am capable of impeccable behavior when the situation calls for it. Your presence has never been cause for much decorum.”

Danny should have been insulted but he couldn’t really blame Vlad. They both tended to be horribly childish where the other was concerned. Danny allowed the older halfa to lead him back to their makeshift operating table. Hopping up onto the counter, Danny muttered, “I guess you bring out the worst in me too, fruitloop.” Vlad merely hummed in response.

“Enough procrastinating,” Vlad declared. “Lie down, Daniel.”

Ignoring the acrobatics his stomach was attempting, Danny leaned back on the table. Did he really trust Vlad enough for this? To just lay there while his archenemy broke his arm? Absolutely not. Every instinct was screaming at Danny to escape. Instead, he stared up at the ceiling and tried to control his breathing. “What do you need me to do?”

“Put the gag in your mouth,” Vlad instructed. Danny’s nerves were starting to get to him; he couldn’t care less if Vlad was teasing him again. “I’m going to break your arm and then set it. As soon as I say, switch forms. It will be difficult to resist transforming prematurely but you must not become Phantom until I say so, Daniel. I’d rather not start the entire process over again.”

Danny nodded and shoved the wadded straps into his mouth before he could ask say something stupid. He could do this. They could do this, he amended, staring up into Plasmius’ determined red eyes. It was a bizarre balance of trust. Danny had to believe that Vlad wouldn’t take advantage of his weakened state in human form. Vlad, for all that he was stronger than Danny, had to trust that the younger halfa wouldn’t use his goodwill as a distraction to strike while Vlad was apparently being altruistic. Vlad had brought Danny down into his lab of all places. He was already showing a great deal of faith in Danny and as the morally upstanding of the two Danny had to meet that good faith halfway.

Once again Danny nodded. He was ready. Vlad moved into position on his right side. One hand went around his elbow, the other was placed just above the grotesque jut of bone. Vlad’s warm hands were large enough to reach nearly all the way around his upper arm. It was oddly comforting.

“On the count of three,” Vlad murmured, “One,*SNAP*!”

Danny arched up off the table before he could stop himself. That _hurt_. Danny remained suspended above the table, contorted in pain as another spasm hit him. The only thing keeping him anchored was Vlad’s hold on his arm. Deep within his core, Danny felt a pulse of energy try to escape. He convulsed again. The pain in his arm had become secondary; fighting against his own transformation was becoming more and more agonizing. Fighting his body’s natural defense was a losing battle.

“Shh, little badger,” Vlad was whispering. Danny was grateful for the gag, otherwise he would have been screaming too loudly to hear Vlad. “Shhhh, you’re going to be alright. Come back down, I’ve got you.”

Danny tried to take a deep breath and ended up choking on it. Vlad’s thumb began making small circles on his upper arm which was a complete contrast to the iron grip he had on the rest of the appendage. Danny knew his eyes were glowing, he could see them reflected in Vlad’s intent gaze. Once again Danny pulled in a deep breath. And then another. Slowly Danny fell back onto the table. His core still felt distressed and he had no idea how much longer he could keep it under control. The need to heal, to become Phantom and escape whatever was harming him, was almost too strong.

As soon as Danny was flat on the table once more, Vlad immediately began pushing the bone back into place. The pieces weren’t going to fit together perfectly; Danny had healed far too much for it to be like a puzzle. There was an angry knot of bone where the break had previously healed that had to be set flush against the new, cleaner break. Danny felt every second of it, every twitch of bone and readjustment that Vlad had to make felt like a live wire shoved into his marrow.

After what Danny would have sworn was an eternity spent floating in a haze of pain, Vlad finally said, “You can stop fighting the transformation, it’s all done.”

Danny didn’t need to be told twice. Ghostly energy exploded out of him in a blinding flash. Distantly Danny felt Vlad’s hands still on him. Touching during the change was intimate and uncomfortable; Danny hoped Vlad found it as off putting as Danny had earlier that day.

As the rings faded, Danny sat up gingerly until he was floating just above the table. “Well now I have a headache,” he groused, or tried to. The nylon straps were still in his mouth, along with the faint taste of blood. He must have bitten the inside of his cheek somehow. Spitting out the now damp gag, Danny repeated himself.

Vlad raised an unsympathetic eyebrow. “You were writhing in pain mere seconds ago, convulsing so strongly that even I was having trouble holding you, and all you have to say is that you have a headache?”

“Thank you for helping me?” Danny tried again with as little sarcasm as he could manage.

“Not what I meant,” Vlad sighed as he finally released Danny’s arm. Danny sat quietly through the examination that followed; Vlad checked not only his arm but Danny’s eyes and reflexes as well. Then they did a brief run-through of his powers. “Phase through the table. Now turn invisible. Can you muster up any ectoenergy?  I asked if you COULD I did NOT say to BLAST ANYTHING!”

Danny laughed and let the green energy fade from his hands. “Chill, fruitloop,” he teased, blowing a thin layer of frost over the other man. Vlad glared at him, clearly unamused. “So what’s the prognosis, doc? Will I live?”

“Yes, yes you’re fine,” Vlad replied irritably as he melted the frost. “More’s the pity.”

“If I’m good then what’s with the headache?”

“Your body is expending a lot of power to heal your human vessel at the moment. A headache is the manifestation of that expenditure,” Vlad explained.

“I’m kinda surprised I haven’t passed out yet,” Danny admitted. Not that he was complaining, of course, but he had been using his powers constantly for the past several hours under conditions of duress. Normally he would have been unconscious by now while his body fought to regain its energy, both human and ghost. “I knocked myself out twice the first time I had a bad break like this.”

“I will admit to some curiosity, little badger,” Vlad admitted cautiously. His tone immediately put Danny on guard; Vlad was not a cautious man. Patience and calculation were Vlad’s trademarks, not caution. “What exactly is this accident that you keep alluding to?”

“Oh, that,” Danny deflected with a nervous chuckle. That had been an unmitigated disaster that he, Sam, and Tucker had all agreed to never mention again. “Um, just a mistake I made the first few months I had my powers.” Admitting any more to the other halfa would just be an invitation for ridicule.

Floating around to Danny’s side above the table, Vlad asked, “Would you like to talk about it? We have a few minutes before your arm is completely healed.”

“Are you serious?” Danny laughed. This temporary cessation of hostilities must have gone to Vlad’s head. “Why would I tell you about one of my worst screw ups? You get front row seats to enough of my messes.”

“Because I’d understand.”

“Not good enough.”

Out of the corner of his eye Danny saw Vlad nod to himself a few times. “It was worth a try,” he admitted. “How about this: because I just fixed one of your famous screw ups and you owe me?”

That was more like the Vlad Danny was used to. “Emotionally blackmailing the teenage hero, huh?” Danny said. “That’s the Vlad I know and loathe. You were starting to worry me for a minute there.”

“I assure you Daniel, my motives are entirely self-serving,” the older halfa declared magnanimously. “Now. What happened that was so awful that you of all people aren’t willing to look back and laugh at yourself?”

“Alright fruitloop you asked for it,” Danny sighed. It wasn’t a pretty story. “So it must have been maybe two months after the accident? I was flying home from patrolling when my powers shorted out. I was a couple of stories high and had no idea how to fall, so of course I landed on my legs. They both broke, badly. One of my shins was poking out the side of my leg and the other femur had popped out just above my knee. There was blood everywhere. Of course I had knocked myself out when I hit the ground, so waking up in pool of my own blood had been a fun time. I have no idea how long I had been out but my powers weren’t advanced enough to really start healing me yet. Not in my human form, anyway.

“So I did the only thing I could think of and called Sam and Tucker. It took them a while to find me because I had no idea where I was. Some back alley somewhere, I wasn’t as acquainted with dirty back streets as I am now. I looked like a freaking nightmare. After the three of us freaked out for a while, we decided that the best thing to do was for me to change back into Phantom.

“That worked out about as well as you’d think it did. I flew home and my friends met me up in my room. When I transformed back my legs had healed a lot. Skin was starting to stretch back over the bones and I couldn’t stand at all. Sam and Tuck snuck me past my parents and down into the lab. We didn’t know what we were looking for, but we knew there had to be something down there that could help.

“I sat on the dissection table while Sam and Tucker ran around trying to find one of my parents’ inventions that could help. Unfortunately they’re more interested in peeling ghosts apart layer by layer than in creating anything helpful. By this point my legs had healed entirely and I had no idea what to do. Sam suggested breaking them again and trying to force them back into place.

“I wasn’t strong enough on my own. Clones weren’t even an idea at that point and my human form lacked any sort of superior strength. So the next best thing were the Fenton Gauntlets that my dad had created to punch ghosts or whatever. I was able to snap both bones in my shin back into place before I fainted. When I woke up, Tucker had thrown up all over the floor and Sam was sitting as far away from me as she could. She was crying, and Tucker wasn’t far behind. I was covered in blood again but my leg was relatively straight.

“The other leg was a different story. The femur had broken too close to my knee for me to get enough leverage to snap it. I was desperate, so I took my leg between both gauntlets and pulverized the bone. And most of my leg, too.

“That time when I woke up Sam and Tucker were gone. Not that I blame them. I was desperate and had no idea what I was doing. After freaking out some more I changed into Phantom and spent the rest of the night in the Ghost Zone, panicking. At one point I was too exhausted to use my powers anymore so I flew back to my room and passed out from exhaustion. The next morning my legs were fine, like it had all been a really bad dream.

“I almost thought I had dreamed it all until I met Sam and Tucker at school. They were freaked out. They hadn’t exactly signed up for emergency halfa surgery. It took weeks for them to be able to look at me and not cringe. They made me promise to never, ever ask for their help with something like that ever again. So I did. I mean, it was awful. The kind of awful that traumatizes people. I’m just lucky they’re still talking to me, honestly.”

A warm hand landed on his shoulder. Danny, who had refused to look up during his monologue, turned to face Vlad expecting revulsion or contempt. After all, Vlad ~~thought he~~ was so much better than him at all things ghostly, right? Instead, all Danny saw was grim acceptance. “You crushed your femur?” he asked seriously. “Do you know what a gamble that was?”

“Of course not,” Danny retorted hotly. “That’s the point you arrogant cuckoo, I had no idea what I was doing!” Danny took a deep breath and tried to reign in his temper, even though Vlad didn’t deserve it. “I know how lucky I am, okay? Most of the risks I’ve taken were stupid and it’s a miracle that I’m only half dead instead of completely dead.”

“I never pulverized a bone but I did have to flay off a portion of my torso after it had gotten covered in a caustic substance,” Vlad admitted.

Danny wasn’t impressed. “Enough with the sharing hour, this isn’t bonding time. I told you what you wanted to know. Now can we check my arm? My headache is gone.”

Vlad removed his hand and gestured for Danny to proceed. Danny held his eyes tightly shut as the light faded. “Is it good? Did we get it right?” The last thing he wanted to do was go through all of that again with Vlad.

“I’m afraid it’s better than I had hoped for,” Vlad sighed dramatically. “You’re going to be perfectly fine. How inconvenient.”

Danny ran his hand up and down the now smooth expanse of skin. There was no evidence of any previous injury. “YES!” he shouted, letting out a whoop of glee. On impulse, Danny jumped up and wrapped his arms around Vlad’s neck. “You did it!”

As his elation wore off, Danny suddenly realized he was pressed bodily up against Vlad from the chest down. The older man seemed too shocked to do anything more than stare down at Danny with wide red eyes. “Oops,” Danny muttered as he dropped to the floor. “Sorry Vlad, got a little carried away.”

“It’s alright, Daniel,” Vlad assured smoothly. “No harm done. Just see that it doesn’t happen again.”

“The hug or the broken arm?”

“Yes.”

Now that the life threatening situation was out of the way, Danny was itching to get home. He was hungry, tired, and still had chemistry homework to finish. “I don’t wanna seem ungrateful but I’ve gotta fly. But Vlad? Seriously. Thanks. That would have been rough without you.”

Vlad looked taken aback for all of two seconds before scowling. “Don’t get used to it, little badger,” he said irritably. “Now get out of my lab before I have to chase you out.”

Danny didn’t need to be told twice. Leaping into the air, he transformed into Phantom and was gone before Vlad had time to fit in another annoying rejoinder. Besides, Danny had gotten the last laugh. Vlad had seemed so uncomfortable when Danny had thanked him. The man obviously didn’t deal with genuine gratitude well. And the hug! Danny hadn't mean to do that, he had just gotten caught up in the moment. But Vlad had spent the entire day touching him, a little more contact shouldn't have freaked him out like that. And Vlad _was_ freaked out, that was the best part. Danny wondered what he'd have to do to get Vlad to look like that more often.

Smiling, Danny headed home towards the setting sun. Vlad was actually kind of useful when he wasn’t being completely awful.


End file.
